PSY101- Introduction to Psychology

COURSE OUTLINE
I. COURSE INFORMATION:

Program:
Course name: Introduction to Psychology
Code: PSY.1050
Semester/Year: 2020
Number of credits: 2
Lecture: 25
Tutorial: 5
Self-Study: 15
Pre-requisite(s): None

II. LECTURER INFORMATION:

No Name Title Email address Phone number

1 Nguyen, Duc Nam MA. ducnam@sharevn.org 0978660507

III. COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is a broad introduction to the field of psychology. Students explore how the mind works,
and how the brain supports the mind. Topics include the mental and neural bases of perception,
emotion, learning, memory, cognition, child development, personality, psychopathology, and social
interaction. Students will consider how such knowledge relates to debates about nature and nurture,
free will, consciousness, human differences, self, and society.

IV. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this subject, students should be able to:

4.1. Knowledge
Demonstrate an understanding of the general history of the field of psychology;

Identify the basic components and mechanisms of the major biological systems often studied in

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psychology; and

Demonstrate an understanding of the basic findings within a variety of areas of psychology, including:
sensation and perception; learning and memory; emotion; development; and social psychology and
disorders.
4.2. Skills
Develop skills necessary to evaluate and think critically about information concerning psychological
phenomenon obtained from research, the general public, and the media.
4.3. Attitudes
Discover the personal relevance of course material, including an understanding of the role of
psychological forces in their lives and the lives others, and an appreciation of the practical value of
psychology.

V. TOPICS

Topic 1: The History and Methods of Psychology

Topic 2: Nature and Nurture: The Biology of Psychology
Topic 3: Sensation, Perception, Consciousness
Topic 4: Learning and Memory
Topic 5: Motivation and Emotion
Topic 6: Stress and Health & Psychological Disorders
Topic 7: Social Behavior

VI. PRESCRIBED TEXT AND RECOMMENDED REFERENCES

Textbook
Weiten, W. (2015). Psychology : Themes and variations (10th ed.). Belmont, Calif.:
Cengage/Wadsworth.

References
Aikins, D.E., & Craske, M.G. (2001). Cognitive theories of generalized anxiety disorder. Psychiatric
Clinics of North America, 24(1), 57-74.
Anderson, C.A., Berkowitz, L., Donnerstein, E., … Wartella, E. (2003). The influence of media
violence on youth. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 4(3), 81-110.
Bargh, J.A. & McKenna, K.Y.A. (2004). The internet and social life. Annual Review of Psychology, 55,
573-590.
Bates, E., Devescovi, A. & Wulfeck, B. (2001). Psycholinguistics: A cross-language perspective.
Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 369-396.
Bolger, N. (1990). Coping as a personality process: A prospective study. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 59, 525-537.
Buss, D.M. (1985). Human mate selection. American Scientist, 73, 47-51.

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Conway, A.R.A., Kane, M., & Engle, R.W. (2003). Working memory capacity and its relation to
general intelligence. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7(12), 547-552.
Gershoff, E.T. (2002). Parental corporal punishment and associated child behaviores and experiences:
A meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 539-579.
Ekman, P. (1993). Facial expression and emotion. American Psychologist, 48, 384-392
Izard, C.E. (1990). Facial expression and the regulation of emotions. Journal of Personality and Social
Psycholog, 58, 487-498
Kahneman, D. (2003). A perspective on judgment and choice: Mapping bounded rationality. American
Psychologist, 58, 697-720.
Kliegel M. & Martin M. (2003). Prospective memory research: Why is it relevant? International
Journal of Psychology, 38 (4).
Marx, E.M., Williams, J.M., & Claridge, J.C. (1992). Depression and social problem solving. Journal
of Abnormal Psychology, 101(1), 78-86.
Park, C.W., Jun, S.Y. & Mecinnis, D.J. (2000). Choosing what I want versus rejecting what I don’t
want: An application of decision framing to product option choice decisions. Journal of
Marketing Research, 37, 187-202.
Paulhus, D.L., Trapnell, P.D., Chen, D. (1999). Birth order effects on personality and achievement
within families. Psychology Science, 10, 482-488.
Till, B.D. & Priluck, R.L. (2000). Stimulus generalization in classical conditioning: An initial
investigation and extension. Psychology and Marketing, 17, 55-72.

Online Resources
Lecture videos @ Education Portal: Psychology 101- Introduction to Psychology
http://education-portal.com/academy/course/psychology-101.html
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OPEN COURSEWARE: Introduction to Psychology
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/brain-and-cognitive-sciences/9-00sc-introduction-to-psychology-fall-2011/
Open Yale Courses: PSYC110 – Introduction to Psychology with Dr. Paul Bloom
http://oyc.yale.edu/psychology/psyc-110

VII. TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS/APPROACHES

This course will primarily rely on class discussion to amplify and enrich information from the required
text and related readings. Other instructional formats may include in-class activities, demonstrations,
case discussion, and experiment. Students are expected to have read material in advance and responded
to study questions when these are assigned.

VIII. COURSE SCHEDULE/ TEACHING PLAN

Session
Lecture Subjects Readings/resourses
(Date)
The History and Methods of Psychology Weiten, Chapter 1
- What is psychology?

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- Why study psychology?

- Psychology today
- Course requirements and schedule
- Class topics and material/resources
Nature and Nurture: The Biology of Psychology
- Nature and Nurture debate
- How brain work
- Neuro system
Sensation and Perception and consciousness Weiten, Chapter 4
- Basic concepts in psychophysics
- Sense of sight: The visual system
- Sense of hearing: The auditory system
- Chemical senses: Taste and smell
- Sense of touch: Sensory system in the skin
- Other senses

Learning Weiten, Chapter 6

- Classical conditioning Anderson et al., 2003; Till
- Operant conditioning & Priluck, 2000; Gershoff,
2002.
- Observational learning
Weiten, Chapter 7
- Behavior modification Conway, Kane & Engle,
Memory 2003; Kliegel & Martin,
- Encoding 2003.
- Storage
- Retrieval
- Forgetting
- Systems and types of memory
Stress and Health
Weiten, Chapter 13
- Nature of stress
- Responding to stress
- Effects of stress on psychological functioning
- Effects of stress physical health
- Stress coping strategies
Psychological Disorders Weiten, Chapter 14
- Abnormal behavior & classification of
disorders Aikins & Craske, 2001;
- Anxiety disorders Marx et al., 1992
- Somatoform disorders
- Mood disorders
- Schizophrenic disorders
- Personality disorders

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Social Behavior Weiten, Chapter 16

- Person perception
- Attribution process Bargh & McKenna, 2004;
- Close relationship
- Attitudes
- Conformity and obedience
Review for final

Final Exam (Covers material from weeks 6-10)

IX. ASSESSMENT DETAILS

No Assessment items Value Due date Characteristics of examination

1. Class 10% Continuous – class attendance and tutorial
Attendance/Participation participation

2. Quizzes 30% 10 minutes quizzes (up tp three quizzes)

3. Group presentation 20% Group of 4-5 students; discussion on the

assigned article; submission of an article
summary; group presentation

4. Final Exam 40% 2-hour in-class exam (multiple choice,

matching & short answer questions)

Total 100%

Students achieve less than 70% class attendance and participation will not be able to attend final exam.

GRADING DETAILS
The student’s final grade in the PSY1050 is a cumulating of mid-term, final, group presentation,
and class attendance.
1. Class attendance/participation (10%)
Grade will be based on student’s class attendance
- 10 points = no class missing or missing no more than 3 classes
- 0 point = missing more than 3 classes
2. The Mid-term is an in-class exam which constitutes 30% of the student’s final grade. The exam
consists of 30 multiple-choice, matching and short-answer questions which cover material from
weeks 1-5. Each question worths 1 point. This means that students may earn a maximum of 30
points from the mid-term exam that equates to 30% of their final grade.
3. Group presentation (20%)
Student will team up with 2-4 other students to work on a randomly assigned article. The group

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must submit a 500-word summary of the article, and then present it in the class. The group
presentation will be graded on a 20-point scale, which equates to the 20% of the course grade that it
accounts for. Details about group presentation will be available in the second week.
Grade will be based on:
- Summary of the article (5 points)
- Classroom presentation (10 points)
- Teamwork skills (5 points)
4. The final is an in-class exam which constitutes 40% of the student’s final grade. The exam consists
of 40 multiple-choice, matching and short-answer questions which cover material from weeks 6-10.
Each question worths 1 point. This means that students may earn a maximum of 40 points from the
final exam that equates to 40% of their final grade.
X. OTHER REQUIREMENTS
Plagiarism in any forms will result to FAIL for the related academic work and all parties.
Cheating on any exam also results to FAIL to the student who commits the cheating and to the person
who allows others to copy his/her work.
No excuses for the ignorance of the guidelines for academic works set by International School-
Vietnam National University.